2018 Cowboys: Turning over the same leaf

Bosoxen

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Sorry, I was referring to this season where the team is 6-1 at home and 2-5 on the road, which is a similar split that the Patriots are dealing with. Cowboys average 10PPG more at home than on the road (24.7 vs. 14.7). That's a pretty decent spread but I admittedly haven't compared it across the league.
I'd still quibble with calling them "really good" at home. 10 more points per game at home sounds really good until you see how low that bar is to begin with. Even if they were to average 24.7 PPG overall, they'd barely be the 13th-best scoring offense in the league. In other words, they go from one of the worst offenses in the league on the road, to barely better than average at home. That's better, but it's not even remotely good, let alone "really" good. And that's without even accounting for the home/road scoring disparities for the other teams in the league, which would still leave them in the bottom half of scoring offenses.

I think it's pretty fair to say their home/road record is purely a function of the defense keeping them in games and scoring just enough to squeak by.
 

TFisNEXT

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That was a brutal performance, but every team is going to lay a total turd or two like that per season. Not an excuse, but I'm almost glad it happened that way since it will prove how much Garrett really pulls this team together in what feels like a "must-win" against a really lousy TB team.

Despite the Giants being dogshit, road division wins are never easy...especially if the weather is crap. So they better wrap it up against TB.

edit: And by "Garrett pulls this team together", I mean that it will be pretty obvious if he didn't. I'd expect even a middle of the pack coach to get a response from their team after a loss like that.
 

Bosoxen

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That was a brutal performance, but every team is going to lay a total turd or two like that per season. Not an excuse, but I'm almost glad it happened that way since it will prove how much Garrett really pulls this team together in what feels like a "must-win" against a really lousy TB team.

Despite the Giants being dogshit, road division wins are never easy...especially if the weather is crap. So they better wrap it up against TB.

edit: And by "Garrett pulls this team together", I mean that it will be pretty obvious if he didn't. I'd expect even a middle of the pack coach to get a response from their team after a loss like that.
Unless, of course, he's lost the locker room. Not saying that's the case here but it doesn't take much imagination to see that stinker followed up by another if the team has tuned out their coach.
 

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I'm trying to think of a worse Cowboys playoff team. One could argue the 1999 squad that went 8-8. But the '99 team had a lot of close losses and a pretty good point differential so they were prob better. Can't come up with many others. The 10-6 1998 team limped into the playoffs in a huge offensive slump so they probably were not the same team that started 8-3.

The only positive is this team has some attributes that can sometimes play well in the postseason...good running and solid defense. Still, the defense hasn't been as dominant recently and their offense sputters too much.
 

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Looking like Seahawks at Cowboys. It's too bad that Romo can't call that one. Bad joke aside, I think that game would be a very good wild card game. Two run-based offenses with tough, physical defenses. Feels like a 20-17 type game. Cowboys winning, of course.
 

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I'm trying to think of a worse Cowboys playoff team. One could argue the 1999 squad that went 8-8. But the '99 team had a lot of close losses and a pretty good point differential so they were prob better. Can't come up with many others. The 10-6 1998 team limped into the playoffs in a huge offensive slump so they probably were not the same team that started 8-3.

The only positive is this team has some attributes that can sometimes play well in the postseason...good running and solid defense. Still, the defense hasn't been as dominant recently and their offense sputters too much.
Yeah they are definitely the worst, but they took advantage and won the division....that's all you can ask at this point.

Seattle (I can't see anyway they lose to the horrible Cardinals) is going to be a tough matchup but at least it's a home game.
 

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Yeah they are definitely the worst, but they took advantage and won the division....that's all you can ask at this point.

Seattle (I can't see anyway they lose to the horrible Cardinals) is going to be a tough matchup but at least it's a home game.
Yeah. I think I'd rather play the Vikings. Though the Cowboys might have trouble cracking 14 points against that defense. But I'm also not overly looking forward to them against Seattle...they have done pretty good at bottling up Wilson over the years but the cowboys offense always has a few awful turnovers against the seachickens.
 

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Yeah. I think I'd rather play the Vikings. Though the Cowboys might have trouble cracking 14 points against that defense. But I'm also not overly looking forward to them against Seattle...they have done pretty good at bottling up Wilson over the years but the cowboys offense always has a few awful turnovers against the seachickens.
I'm taking Kirk Cousins over Russell Wilson every day of the week even if he has the more talented team around him.
 

Marciano490

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Congrats you guys, but wow Cowboys fans around here some pessimistic as pre ‘04 Sox fans. Is that common for the franchise?
 

Greg29fan

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Congrats you guys, but wow Cowboys fans around here some pessimistic as pre ‘04 Sox fans. Is that common for the franchise?
Since Super Bowl XXX the team has been mismanaged, underachieved, and/or suffered some of the most brutal gut punches losses in the NFL, so yes?....
 

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Yeah the post-1996 Cowboys have been a brutally scarred franchise in many ways. They had an incredible run for 3 decades so they had to pay up at some point.

But they can break out of it anytime now. 20+ years seems fair. I'm still half expecting some brutal loss though in the playoffs. If it's not the home wildcard round, then somehow screwing up a chance at a road upset ala 2014@GB seems appropriate.
 

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Yeah the post-1996 Cowboys have been a brutally scarred franchise in many ways. They had an incredible run for 3 decades so they had to pay up at some point.

But they can break out of it anytime now. 20+ years seems fair. I'm still half expecting some brutal loss though in the playoffs. If it's not the home wildcard round, then somehow screwing up a chance at a road upset ala 2014@GB seems appropriate.
I don’t remember much from that 2014 game other than the fact that they got hosed on the Dez Bryant non-catch call. That was an incredibly bad luck play. They score there and they take the lead with about 4 mins to go. May still lose but I don’t think you can hold that game against them.
 

Greg29fan

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I don’t remember much from that 2014 game other than the fact that they got hosed on the Dez Bryant non-catch call. That was an incredibly bad luck play. They score there and they take the lead with about 4 mins to go. May still lose but I don’t think you can hold that game against them.
DeMarco Murray had an absolute crusher of a fumble when he was probably going to run for a TD and Julius Peppers reached out and knocked the ball loose somehow. Marinelli also stopped sending pressure at AR when he couldn't move.
 

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DeMarco Murray had an absolute crusher of a fumble when he was probably going to run for a TD and Julius Peppers reached out and knocked the ball loose somehow. Marinelli also stopped sending pressure at AR when he couldn't move.
Good call on Demarco. That was a brutal play.
 

TFisNEXT

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IIRC wasn't the Murray fumble when Dallas had a 21-13 lead in the 3rd? It really was an awful fumble because he had daylight in front him.
 

Greg29fan

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IIRC wasn't the Murray fumble when Dallas had a 21-13 lead in the 3rd? It really was an awful fumble because he had daylight in front him.
I think they were up 14-10 cause it was the first drive after halftime, and that was after Dallas had screwed up the end of the first half with Bailey having a kick blocked and GB getting a field goal.
 

TFisNEXT

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I think they were up 14-10 cause it was the first drive after halftime, and that was after Dallas had screwed up the end of the first half with Bailey having a kick blocked and GB getting a field goal.
Yep I remember that brutal end of half sequence. If I recall too, after the blocked FG, GB converted like a 3rd and 18 with 20 sec left to get into FG range.

The Cowboys should have been up by 3 scores midway through the 3rd in that game with the way that game flow was going but they just pissed away so many opportunities.

It's too bad too because that Cowboys team was probably the most formidable of the Romo era. They were a legit team. Then watching GB absolutely fumble the game away the next week despite 5 Seattle turnovers made it even worse.
 

Bosoxen

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You fuckers just ruined my Christmas. That 2014 team may have been the last, best hope for winning a Super Bowl in my lifetime. And I'm only 40.
 

Marciano490

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You fuckers just ruined my Christmas. That 2014 team may have been the last, best hope for winning a Super Bowl in my lifetime. And I'm only 40.
Don’t be silly, you’ll probably have 2-3 years left after Jerry dies!
 

Bosoxen

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Don’t be silly, you’ll probably have 2-3 years left after Jerry dies!
It'll take a lifetime to get his stink off the organization. At this point, I'm just hoping my daughter will get to see one during hers.
 

TFisNEXT

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DAL opening as 2.5 point favorites at home against Seattle. Prob a pretty fair line. Both teams have large home/road splits this year....though historically Dallas hasn't had much of a home field advantage since moving to the new stadium, but they definitely played better at home in 2018.

Side note....yesterday was the first game this season that the Cowboys defense allowed 30+ points. Though they did play a large portion of that 2nd half without LVE and they rested one of their best DEs Tyrone Crawford.

Cowboys offense still worries me this game against Seattle's defense. Even though they are not the same defense from their superbowl years, Cowboys seem to have chronic turnover issues against them as we saw up in Seattle earlier in the regular season. Granted, it was pre-Cooper and back when Dak was playing a lot worse. Not sure really what to expect this game.

Given its the Cowboys, I'm predicting a gutpunch loss where they squander a bunch of chances. 23-20 or something like that.
 

Bosoxen

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Well, that just happened. Hell of a win but I can't help feeling like they were lucky Seattle had no place kicker in the second half. That was a total game changer.

Those fucking refs, though. Holy shit I was about to lose it until they finally started calling penalties on Seattle in the 4th quarter.
 

TFisNEXT

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Well, that just happened. Hell of a win but I can't help feeling like they were lucky Seattle had no place kicker in the second half. That was a total game changer.

Those fucking refs, though. Holy shit I was about to lose it until they finally started calling penalties on Seattle in the 4th quarter.
I dunno...I think the way the plays worked out, Seattle benefited from it because they got both two point conversions and made both 4th down conversions in DAL territory. There was never a situation where they would have gone for a FG and ended up not getting points.

Dallas played a really good game and looked like they were the better team. But....always a but...a couple bonehead mental mistakes in the Dak endzone pick into traffic (even if the refs missed DPI) and the absolutely inexplicable blown coverage late in the game while up by 10 on seattle's last gasp.
 

Marciano490

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Is there any chance the O line can improve throughout the playoffs? I feel like it's been the team's strength the last couple years, but is in rough shape now with injuries and whatnot.
 

TFisNEXT

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Let's face it, Dallas played a hell of a game today and deserved a lot of credit for the win. Congrats.
Thanks. You're a good SEA fan. I thought their play calling was questionable and was a factor in this game...they didn't really seem to let Russell Wilson loose until it was getting late.
 

TFisNEXT

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Is there any chance the O line can improve throughout the playoffs? I feel like it's been the team's strength the last couple years, but is in rough shape now with injuries and whatnot.
Every week that Zack Martin doesn't get worse is a good one....but overall, they are what they are right now. Tyron Smith has a cranky back, and seemed ok tonight, so maybe he plays better too next week with another week of rest.

But really, without Travis Frederick at center, the line won't be the best it can be. He's been a huge loss all season.
 

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A long-silent playoff rivalry gets resurrected next week with Dallas playing the Rams.

They played in '73, '75, '76, '78, '79, '80, '83, and '85 with Dallas winning four times (73, 75, 78 and 80) and LA four times (76, 79, 83, and 85).
 

TFisNEXT

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Gonna be a lot of DAL fans in LA. I like this matchup for the Cowboys better than their chances @NO. Goff can sometimes get cold and turn into a bit of a head case and DAL has the front 7 to try and keep Gurley in check.

Not looking forward to facing Donald though. Hopefully Zack Martin is feeling good Saturday night. But the Rams defense is poor against the rush which could work in DAL's favor with Zeke and company.
 

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Better matchup for the Cowboys and keeps alive the slim chance of hosting the NFCCG if Foles Magic can somehow take out the Saints in the Dome.
 

Al Zarilla

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A long-silent playoff rivalry gets resurrected next week with Dallas playing the Rams.

They played in '73, '75, '76, '78, '79, '80, '83, and '85 with Dallas winning four times (73, 75, 78 and 80) and LA four times (76, 79, 83, and 85).
Or, the Cowboys were playing playoff games against the 49ers, 6 or 7 times from 1970 to 1994. I remember those a lot more than their tilts vs the Rams (matter of where you live).
 

Bosoxen

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Not looking forward to facing Donald though. Hopefully Zack Martin is feeling good Saturday night. But the Rams defense is poor against the rush which could work in DAL's favor with Zeke and company.
I think the bigger concern might be Connor Williams. He regained his starting LG spot in the WC game and didn't seem to be any kind of weak link, so it appears he may have turned the corner. I'd be curious to see what the game tape breakdowns would say about his performance.
 

TFisNEXT

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I think the bigger concern might be Connor Williams. He regained his starting LG spot in the WC game and didn't seem to be any kind of weak link, so it appears he may have turned the corner. I'd be curious to see what the game tape breakdowns would say about his performance.
Yeah good point. He was pretty good against the Seahawks...unlike when he lost his starting job in the regular season when he had some terrible games.

Su'a-Filo reportedly may be back this week though so not sure how that complicates things. Maybe he serves as backup if Williams looks like he is struggling early on...you can throw Sua-Filo in there.

The O-line is going to be huge this game. Not just because of Donald and his pass rush but the Rams are pretty vulnerable against the run so if the Oline can bring their A game, they could really put some pressure on the Rams.
 

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Williams's problem is that he doesn't have the strength necessary to be a top-notch guard in the NFL, and that's not going to change til he can hit the weights and go through strength & conditioning in the offseason. Against Donald, that's obviously an issue, and if XSF can go, I think I'd rather have him in there.
 

Bosoxen

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Yeah good point. He was pretty good against the Seahawks...unlike when he lost his starting job in the regular season when he had some terrible games.

Su'a-Filo reportedly may be back this week though so not sure how that complicates things. Maybe he serves as backup if Williams looks like he is struggling early on...you can throw Sua-Filo in there.

The O-line is going to be huge this game. Not just because of Donald and his pass rush but the Rams are pretty vulnerable against the run so if the Oline can bring their A game, they could really put some pressure on the Rams.
It should be noted that, to my eyes at least, Su'a-Filo's play had dipped recently. So Williams may have technically started at LG due to injury but he may not necessarily lose it if Su'a-Filo recovers in time for the game. Williams played well enough in Martin's absence to warrant giving him another shot but @Greg29fan's good point (which popped up as I type this post) about Williams' lack of strength is something that will likely be a consideration.

I don't really trust Garrett fully but I do trust Marc Colombo and his ability to prepare his unit. Because of that we can say whoever constitutes the starting 5 on the line will be ready to roll come game time. That, at least, is comforting.
 

TFisNEXT

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Good point about Colombo, the line has been playing a lot better since he took over duties as the line coach. They have seemed to have an edge about them too since that time.
 

Greg29fan

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Not that it has any specific bearing on the outcome of Saturday night's game, but Dallas hasn't won a road playoff game since the 1992 NFC Championship game in San Francisco.
 

TFisNEXT

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Not that it has any specific bearing on the outcome of Saturday night's game, but Dallas hasn't won a road playoff game since the 1992 NFC Championship game in San Francisco.
Yep. 0-7 in their last 7. They've obviously had some brutal losses like Green Bay in 2014 and Seattle in 2006. I really thought the 2009 team would give MIN a run but they showed up uncompetitive in that game.

It seems expectations are pretty low overall for the Cowboys. Not many are picking them to win...and it's a fair shake. They need to prove they can win on the road and in the 2nd round too. They haven't even won a 2nd round game since the '95 Super Bowl run.
 

Ale Xander

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Good point about Colombo, the line has been playing a lot better since he took over duties as the line coach. They have seemed to have an edge about them too since that time.
Fly Eagles fly. If there's one and only one thing you can trust BC football with, it's OL play.
 

Bosoxen

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Yep. 0-7 in their last 7. They've obviously had some brutal losses like Green Bay in 2014 and Seattle in 2006. I really thought the 2009 team would give MIN a run but they showed up uncompetitive in that game.

It seems expectations are pretty low overall for the Cowboys. Not many are picking them to win...and it's a fair shake. They need to prove they can win on the road and in the 2nd round too. They haven't even won a 2nd round game since the '95 Super Bowl run.
No matter how you slice it - they're also only 4-3 at home since the '95 Super Bowl - the inability to win playoff games has been a real killer. After they won the game, I turned to my 12 year-old nephew and said, "Now they've won three playoff games in your lifetime." A beat later, I turned to my 20 year-old nephew (who will turn 21 on Super Bowl Sunday) and said, "Same goes for you." Then I threw up a little bit in my mouth.
 

TFisNEXT

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Time sensitive post.

For you Cowboys fans, the replay of the Seattle game is on NFL network right now. Goes until 11pm.
 

TFisNEXT

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No matter how you slice it - they're also only 4-3 at home since the '95 Super Bowl - the inability to win playoff games has been a real killer. After they won the game, I turned to my 12 year-old nephew and said, "Now they've won three playoff games in your lifetime." A beat later, I turned to my 20 year-old nephew (who will turn 21 on Super Bowl Sunday) and said, "Same goes for you." Then I threw up a little bit in my mouth.
For some reason over the last 24 hours or so, I've become a lot more bullish on the Cowboys' chances on Saturday night. It's probably just because it feels like they are playing with house money....nobody thought they'd even be here, especially mid-season. Expectations have been so much higher in all the previous divisional rounds for the Cowboys in recent memory.

I also like their defense for once. Their game feels like it can travel in the playoffs. At any rate, they'll probably lose by 3 touchdowns now after I said that, but I'm looking forward to the game.
 

Bosoxen

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For some reason over the last 24 hours or so, I've become a lot more bullish on the Cowboys' chances on Saturday night. It's probably just because it feels like they are playing with house money....nobody thought they'd even be here, especially mid-season. Expectations have been so much higher in all the previous divisional rounds for the Cowboys in recent memory.

I also like their defense for once. Their game feels like it can travel in the playoffs. At any rate, they'll probably lose by 3 touchdowns now after I said that, but I'm looking forward to the game.
I don't think the defense is there yet. Their vulnerability at safety is not necessarily a great matchup against the Rams offense, either. I envision a typical Cowboys loss:

They'll grab an early lead but prove utterly incapable of adding to it. The defense will do just enough to keep it a one score game, only to fall apart in the 4th quarter. Linehan will turn the offense loose and the game will become one of those Philly-style back-and-forth affairs. They'll end up losing on either a boneheaded Prescott mistake or some heart-breaking once-in-a-lifetime (for them, anyway) fluke play to set up the Rams for the winning FG.

That'll provide plenty of fodder for the blue kool-aid drinking and self-loathing Cowboys fans, alike, to get us to the start of free agency.
 

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I like the Cowboys this weekend. If the Eagles and their (at the time) MASH unit D could go into LA and hold them to 23, then so can the Cowboys. I know they blew it up vs KC the week afterwards but I think the loss of Kupp really hurts their offense.
 

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I like the Cowboys this weekend. If the Eagles and their (at the time) MASH unit D could go into LA and hold them to 23, then so can the Cowboys. I know they blew it up vs KC the week afterwards but I think the loss of Kupp really hurts their offense.
That's the thing. With the way the offense has a tendency to sputter (particularly on the road), I'm worried even just 23 would be too much to overcome.
 

TFisNEXT

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I don't think the defense is there yet. Their vulnerability at safety is not necessarily a great matchup against the Rams offense, either. I envision a typical Cowboys loss:

They'll grab an early lead but prove utterly incapable of adding to it. The defense will do just enough to keep it a one score game, only to fall apart in the 4th quarter. Linehan will turn the offense loose and the game will become one of those Philly-style back-and-forth affairs. They'll end up losing on either a boneheaded Prescott mistake or some heart-breaking once-in-a-lifetime (for them, anyway) fluke play to set up the Rams for the winning FG.

That'll provide plenty of fodder for the blue kool-aid drinking and self-loathing Cowboys fans, alike, to get us to the start of free agency.
Haha, I could see that. Yeah the safety position is definitely the one big weak link in the defense. I'm hoping they can get good pressure on Goff though and turn him into a bit of a head case...and bottle up TG II with their good run defense. TG II might not even be 100% anyway.

I'm definitely worried about a disastrous turnover though with Donald pressuring Dak....either a fumble and return for TD or a panic throw and INT. Something like that. The line needs to have a good game. They can run over this Rams defense with Zeke and that line, but you know they are going to stack the box a lot once Zeke gets a couple 10-15 yard runs. Dak will have to make a couple good deep throws to beat them, and as we know, Dak seems to miss a TD seemingly once per game these days on a bad deep pass. He's gonna have to hit it this game...you know he will have a chance or two with someone wide open.